Jeremy Renner appeared on Conan O’Brien last night and explained his jest about the sexual promiscuity of Avengers character Black Widow. (Photo: ScreenCap)

Jeremy Renner, who has played Hawkeye in three Avengers movies, was unrepentant on Conan O’Brien last night when the talk show host asked him to explain why he called Scarlett Johansson’s character, Black Widow, a “slut” during a promotional tour for “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”

Rennter, 44, was bantering with co-star Chris Evans, aka Capt. America, when they joked that their fictional teammate was a “slut” and a “complete whore.”

Needless to say social media exploded with scorn for the derogatory, sexist remark. Renner noted that he got into “a lot of Internet trouble, because that’s the thing now.”

“The Internet is a brand now thing that’s creeping up on America,” countered Conan.

Renner explained the origin of the joke. During the promotional tour, a fan noted that Black Widow had been linked with Hawkeye, Iron Man, Bruce Banner and Capt. America. “So they said, ‘What do you think about that?'”

“Well, I said ‘It sound’s like she’s a slut,'” he explained.

“Now, mind you, I was talking about a fictional character, and fictional behavior. But Conan if you slept with four of the six Avengers, no matter how much fun you had… you’d be a slut.”

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